


Rebirth

by temperanceluvr



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, Government Conspiracy, Government Experimentation, Mutant Powers, Mutants, mutant experiment, mutant family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-09-21
Packaged: 2018-08-13 06:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7966858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/temperanceluvr/pseuds/temperanceluvr
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Locked away since birth, a young snake mutant experiment, Viper, endured 18 years of unimaginable pain and suffering at the hands of some of the government's most brilliant scientific minds. When she finally manages to escape, she is stopped by the turtles and taken to their lair. Unable to communicate verbally, Viper finds she has a unique power that allows her to communicate using Leonardo as her puppet. Now she must find a way to get back to the surface in order to save the other mutant experiments that were left behind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Turtles and the Snake

    “Are we sure this is the right place Donnie?” Leonardo asked as he and his brothers came upon a large building.

    “Yes, there’s been a lot of suspicious activity coming out of this building in the past few weeks.” Donatello replied. “The Kraang must be inside, there’s no other explanation.”

    “Then let’s get in there and see what they’re up to.” Michelangelo said excitedly.

    “We have to be very careful, this is just a reconnaissance mission, don’t start a fight if you don’t have to.” Leonardo cautioned, emphasizing the last part to Raphael before they all jumped over to the roof of the building.

    They climbed in through an opening in the ceiling and waited until they knew the coast was clear before they made their way through the hall.

    “It doesn’t _look_ like the Kraang are here…” Donatello thought aloud as they walked down the hall, which wasn’t anything like the ones they’d seen in Kraang buildings before.

    Suddenly an alarm sounded throughout the whole building and the turtles froze in their tracks. Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael turned to face Michelangelo.

    “It wasn’t me! I swear! I haven’t touched anything!” Michelangelo said defensively.

    “Wait a second, I don’t think Mikey set off the alarm.” Donatello said as they heard people running down the hall. Quickly, the four turtles hid themselves while a few men in suits ran down the hall, guns in their hands.

    “C’mon, we’ve gotta make sure to block all the exits!”

    “We can’t let her escape!”

    “Remember, we don’t want to kill her, but if she fights back we have the green light to shoot her.”

    “I think this is a government building.” Donatello said as they found an empty room and hid inside. “Those guys looked like government agents, at least, I think that’s what they are. I couldn’t really see any badges.”

    “Whoever those guys are, it sounds like there’s some crazy chick who got loose.” Raphael added. “They seemed pretty worried about her getting out.”

    “I wonder what she did to have the government keep her locked up.” Leonardo wondered aloud.

    “Hey guys, I hear something.” Michelangelo climbed up on a table. “I think there’s something in the ceiling.”

    “It must be the escapee.” Donatello said. “We’ve gotta do something.”

    “And be seen by a human? Are you nuts?!” Raphael shouted.

    “Keep it down you meathead!” Donatello said harshly.

    Suddenly a ceiling panel fell off and knocked Michelangelo onto the ground and someone landed on the fallen panel. It was hard to see her in the intense darkness of the room but the turtles still pulled out their weapons and prepared themselves for a fight.

    “Stop right there!” Leonardo shouted, pointing his katana at the suspicious person. “You must be the escapee those men are looking for, right?”

    They heard an odd hissing sound and then found themselves being knocked onto the ground. The door opened and the escapee fled.

    “Oh she is so gonna get it!” Raphael grumbled as he and his brothers jumped to their feet.

    “We’ve gotta stop her, come on.” Donatello said.

    The turtles raced down the hallway after the girl, trying to make sure they weren’t seen by the government agents at the same time. They heard shouting from another hall up ahead and saw two of the government agents thrown across the hall.

    “This is the end of the line, Viper. Give up and we can forget any of this ever happened.” A man shouted.

    The turtles peered around the corner and saw five men pointing guns at the escapee’s back. All they could see from where they were was that she had jet black hair down to her knees. Beyond that they couldn’t tell who this girl was.

    Just then, the lights in the hallway went out and a loud hiss echoed off the metal walls of the hallway. The turtles could hear the guns clatter to the floor and the men scrambling to grab their weapons.

    “Let’s move, quickly!” Leonardo whispered to his brothers before running down the now dark hallway.

    When they came to the end of the hall they saw the light from an open door and ran out onto the roof of the building. They saw the girl standing on the roof, gazing up at the moonless star-filled sky. They could see her appearance a little more clearly now. She had pale skin and a long slender tail that poked out from beneath her dark hair.

    Suddenly, Raph fell to his knees, gripping his head and yelling in pain.

    “Raph! W-What’s wrong?!” Donatello looked at his brother in concern.

    “I don’t… know—AGH!” Raphael seemed to be in a lot of pain.

    “Leo, whadda we do?!” Michelangelo asked turning to his brother. Leonardo didn’t respond, his eyes had gone completely white and empty. “Leo…?”

    Michelangelo touched Leonardo’s arm and he spun around, hitting Michelangelo and knocking him into an air vent.

    “What is the matter with you Leo?!” Donatello shouted at him.

    “The heck is your problem man?!” Michelangelo added as he got to his feet.

    Still Leonardo did not respond. It was as if he wasn’t able to hear his brothers’ voices. Raphael, still writhing in pain, looked over at the girl, who had turned to face the turtles.

    A shiver ran down Raphael’s shell. Blood-red lifeless eyes stared back at him in the darkness of the night. When their eyes met, Raphael felt another stinging wave of pain sweep over him and he screamed from the immense pain.

    “It’s… it’s her!” Raphael said, his voice struggling. “Whatever’s going… on with Leo and me… GAH!!! It’s coming from her!” She stared at Raphael and he stared back, not daring to look away. “She’s scared… and in pain. AGGGH! A **_heck of a lot_** of pain…”

    “Wait… you mean, is she **_communicating_** with you?” Donatello asked in an air of fascination and curiosity. “How is that even possible?”

    “How am I supposed to know?!” Raphael shouted. “But I don’t think she’s the one we have to stop. She’s a mutant like us, so maybe we should be _helping_ her.”

     _“I do not need your help.”_ Leonardo said. His voice sounded strange, as if it wasn’t really him talking to them.

    Donatello glanced over at the mysterious girl standing on the rooftop. “Are **_you_** doing that?” he asked.

     _“I do not need your help.”_ Leonardo said again.

    “But if you’re a mutant, we wanna help you dude!” Michelangelo said walking closer to the girl. “I mean, we’re mutants too! We gotta stick together, right?”

     _“I work **alone**. You would only get in my way.”_

    “At least tell us your name,” Donatello said.

    A loud gunshot sounded and she collapsed on the roof. Leonardo’s eyes returned to normal and the turtles spun around to see a government agent standing in the doorway. He had a deep gash on his chest, blood dripping from his bloodstained clothes onto the rooftop, and after another moment or two, he collapsed as well.

    The pain disappeared from Raphael and he looked at the government agent back to the girl.

    “What just happened?” Leonardo asked confused.

    “I don’t know… but we better get out of here quickly.” Donatello said helping Raphael to stand up.

    “We’ve gotta get her outta here too.” Raphael said looking over at the girl.

    “But she said she didn’t want our help, right?” Michelangelo said. “I think we should just leave her.”

    “No, I’m not gonna just leave her here.” Raphael walked over to her and lifted her onto his shell. “Something tells me those guys were the ones who caused her pain. I won’t leave her where they can continue torturing her.”

    “Alright, fine, let’s go already!” Leonardo said.

    They returned to their home in the sewers and Donatello took a look at the gunshot wound the girl received. Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael closed the exits for Donatello’s lab so they could try and figure out who this girl was before she could run off.

    “It looks like the bullet just went through her leg, I don’t see any other wounds.” Donatello said as he cleaned up the wound and bandaged her leg. “I think she passed out from shock.”

    “Well whoever this girl is, one thing is for sure.” Leonardo said looking at the girl’s scratched and bruised face. “She’s really strong and has powerful abilities we’ve never seen before.”

    “What happened to you up on the roof, Leo?” Michelangelo asked. “You were acting strange.”

    Leonardo rubbed his head as he tried to remember what happened. “I-I don’t know, exactly…” he looked at the girl’s face and thought back to the last thing he remembered. “I remember running onto the roof but then… I don’t know, all I remember is feeling angry and full of hate.”

    “You must have had a psychic connection through this girl.” Splinter said as he walked into the room where his sons were. He saw the girl on the table and turned to Leonardo. “Perhaps she was trying to communicate to someone and you were able to connect to her because you are so in tuned to your spiritual self.”

    “But this doesn’t make sense, why can’t I remember anything?” Leonardo asked.

    “And how does that explain him throwing Mikey across the roof?” Donatello added.

    Splinter stroked his beard as he thought. “I am not sure.”

    “What about me?” Raphael asked. “I mean, what the heck happened to me up there? One second I was fine but the next all I could feel was pain.”

    “Hmm, that **_is_** very strange…” Splinter closed his eyes. “Maybe this girl has the unique and rare ability that allows her to communicate her feelings to others.”

    “But why Raph? He’s not in tuned spiritually like me.” Leonardo asked.

    “This is true Leonardo. You said that you felt anger and hate. Those must be the strongest emotions that girl feels and if I am correct in my assumption, she might have connected with Raphael because they **_share_** those strong emotions.”

    “What do you mean, sensei? That I’m somehow ‘connected’ to this girl because I have anger issues and she’s full of anger?” Raphael couldn’t believe what he was hearing. None of this was making any sense.

    “Raph, think back to when you felt that pain, you said you and this girl stared at each other for a few moments right?” Donatello asked.

    “Yeah, what about it?”

    “Well, you **_were_** the one who said she was the one doing something to you and Leo, right? So, what do you remember when you were looking at her eyes?”

    Raphael tried to think back. He felt scared and bitter and hurt. He closed his eyes and a few images flashed in his head. They passed by so quickly that he didn’t even understand what he was seeing.

    A small cold metal room with a large window on one wall. Chains shackling hands to the wall. A man staring through the window.

    “Whoa… that was weird…” Raphael said as he grabbed his head. “I-I think I just saw some parts of her memories…”

    “I knew it, sensei’s right!” Donatello exclaimed excitedly. “This girl managed to communicate to you and Leo somehow. I bet she didn’t realize she was doing it and that’s why you can see parts of her memories!”

    The girl’s eyes shot open and she leapt up, knocking Donatello and Leonardo down with her tail. Raphael and Michelangelo ran to stand between her and the exit and she stopped.

    “Look, we’re not going to hurt you.” Raphael said calmly.

    The girl simply hissed at him.

    “You’re safe here!” Michelangelo added, taking a step forward.

    “We only want to help.” Leonardo said to her.

    She turned to face Leonardo. It was as if she suddenly remembered something. His eyes went white as she took control of him.

     _“Where have you taken me?!”_ the girl said through Leonardo.

    “It’s okay, you’re just in our lair, but we’re not going to hurt you.” Donatello told her.

    Splinter took a step forward. “May I ask why you communicate through my son instead of simply talking normally?”

    The expression on her face softened a little but she gave a heavy glance toward Splinter. _“It is none of your concern.”_

    “If it effects my sons, it most certainly **_is_**.”

    Donatello took a deep breath. “Can you at least tell us your name and who you are? We promise we aren’t going to hurt you.”

    There was silence for a minute. The girl was clearly thinking about whether or not she could really trust these strangers. Finally she decided it would be okay to answer their questions.

     _“My name is Viper.”_

    “Okay, well, Viper, do you mind telling us what happened tonight?” Donatello asked.

    “Yeah, why were those men so desperate to keep you from escaping?” Raphael added.

     _“Those men were doing what they were told. I harbor no ill will against them directly.”_

    “That… doesn’t answer our question…” Donatello said.

     _“Why do you insist on knowing this information? What use will it be to you?”_

    “We just want to know more about you so we can help in any way we can.” Raphael said simply.

    “We mutants gotta stick together, right?” Michelangelo added.

     _“I do not understand.”_

    “We care about what happens to you.” Splinter said.

     _“You care? Then why am I being held prisoner here? You are no different than the others who kept me locked away.”_

    “You’re not a prisoner!” Raphael exclaimed in irritation. “We’re not forcing you to stay against your will.”

     _“And yet you will not permit me to leave.”_

    “She has a point.” Michelangelo said.

     _“I do not wish to harm you, as I am able to find use for you at the moment. But make no mistake, I can kill you all as easily as I can spare you.”_

    “Why are you threatening us?! We’re just trying to help you out!” Raphael shouted angrily.

    Viper’s eyes narrowed and Raphael felt his head writhe in pain again. He fell to his knees, grabbing his head.

    “Why are you doing this? We haven’t done anything to you!” Michelangelo cried out as he knelt beside his brother.

     _“I do not know why he reacts this way, nor do I know how I am able to control one of you. And it makes no difference to me. I will do whatever I have to in order to survive and keep my freedom. I will even kill you if the need for me arises.”_

    Suddenly Viper began to sway and she fell to the floor. Leonardo’s eyes returned to normal and Raphael’s pain ceased.

    “Okay… _what_ just happened?” Michelangelo asked as Donatello walked over to Viper.

    “I think she’s just passed out again,” Donatello told them.

    “Perhaps this ability she has is new to her and she has not yet learned how to control it.” Splinter thought aloud as Donatello laid Viper back on the table. “It obviously would take a great amount of energy to be able to use such an ability the way she has been.”

    “Well I hope when she wakes up she’ll finally let us help her.” Leonardo said.

~ ~ ~

    When Viper woke up she didn’t know where she was. She looked around the room she was in and saw that it looked similar to the one she had spent her whole life in. But this room was different somehow. Warmer. Kinder. Safer.

    “Ah, good, you’re awake.”

    Viper spun around, beakers and books clattering onto the ground as she stumbled off the table she had been resting on. It was one of the turtles she had met the night before, though she did not recognize which one at first. She remembered now. She was in their home. They had brought her here after she lost consciousness on the roof.

    “It’s okay, calm down, I’m not gonna hurt you.” He said calmly as he walked towards her. His face held a soft and kind expression, as if he was sincere about not hurting her.

    Viper did not believe him. She hissed angrily and backed further away from him. This was how it was with **_them_ ** too. They would send someone new and they would try and convince her that they were not going to hurt her. But they always did. Every time Viper always ended up being hurt or nearly killed. But not this time. This time she would be ready for their tricks.

    “I get it. I won’t come any closer, okay?” he stopped advancing towards her.

    Viper knew better than to let her guard down. She continued to stare angrily at him.

    “I don’t expect you to trust me, but I wanted to see if you would let me try something.” She knew it! “I know you can’t speak. It has something to do with that scar on your neck, doesn’t it?”

    Viper didn’t know what was happening. She reached up and touched the place where the turtle was referring. One of the many scars she received from her life full of “experiments.”

    For reasons she herself didn’t fully understand, Viper nodded in response to the turtle’s question.

    The turtle held up a small device on a piece of cloth. “I made this while you were unconscious. It should help you to communicate with us even though you can’t speak.” He looked up at her, their eyes meeting. “But I won’t force you.” He bent down and laid the device on the ground. “I’m gonna tell the others you’re awake, and if you want, you just have to place that device on your neck for it to work.”

    As he left the room, Viper turned her attention back to the device on the ground. Could this device **_really_** allow her to talk once again? She thought about what **_he_** would’ve done and found herself picking up the device and placing it around her neck.

     _I hope that I am not being foolish in trusting them._ Viper thought as she walked around the room she was in. _But I must do whatever I can if I am to save him. Even at the risk of my own life, I must save him. If these turtles are able to help me, then maybe…_

    The turtle returned to the room along with the other three turtles and the rat. Viper made sure that her back was not to any of them by standing up against a wall. Even if she was to trust them enough to seek their help, she would not be foolish enough to trust them entirely.

    “I see you put the device on,” the turtle before said as he noticed the device on Viper’s neck. “Go ahead and try to say something, it should work.”

    Viper hesitated but did as he requested. “Euh, ok ... bonjour? Quoi? Que dis-je? Je ne me comprends pas! Qu'est-ce que vous faites pour moi ?!”

    The three other turtles burst into laughter as Viper panicked over the voice the device gave her.

    “Okay, okay, calm down.” The first turtle said gently, walking over to her. She did not trust him enough to touch her directly, so she shook her head at him and removed the device herself. “Sorry about that, I’ll fix it right now.”

    One of the turtles turned to Viper, taking a deep breath. “So… Viper, um… do you mind if we ask you some questions?”

    Viper simply stared back at him. Did they really expect her to tell them her life story? Who are these creatures and what exactly are they after? Surely they did not expect her to help them in their missions… did they?

    The silence and ominous foreboding in the room was almost tangible. The only sounds that could be heard were the one turtle’s tools against the metal of the device.

    Viper knew that they were probably just curious about her and decided to humor their questions, but only because she knew she might need to ask for their help in the future.

    She grabbed a notebook and pen off of a nearby desk and wrote something on it. She then showed it to the turtle.

    I will allow you to ask your questions, turtle, but I reserve my right to not answer if I do not want to.

    “Sounds fair enough, now first…” he stopped when he saw her writing something else.

    First I must ask a question of my own. You all know my name but I do not know yours.

    “Oh, right, guess we never got fully introduced before.” He said with an embarrassed laugh. “My name is Leonardo, this is Raphael, Michelangelo and the one over there working on that device is Donatello.”

    Viper scribbled again.

    Who is the rat?

    “That’s master Splinter, he’s our sensei as well as our father.” Leonardo told her. He paused to see if there was anything else Viper wanted to say. When she didn’t write anything else, he proceeded to ask his questions. “So, what… **_exactly_** are you?”

    Viper hesitated but wrote out her response.

    I am an experiment by the government to test an unidentifiable chemical they discovered many years ago.

    “Experiment? What does that even mean?” Raphael asked.

    “Unidentified chemical…? Do you think it could be mutagen?” Leonardo asked Donatello as he rejoined the group.

    “It must be, otherwise how would she have become a mutant like us?” Donatello held out the device again for Viper but she shook her head.

    I would prefer to communicate this way. I do not trust **_that_** to communicate accurately for me.

    “Okay, so, you’re an experiment with the mutagen. How did you get all those scars?” Leonardo asked.

    I will only say that they are reminders.

    “Of what?”

    How cruel humans can be.

    “Humans?” the turtles looked at each other.

    “You’re saying… _humans_ did that to you?” Donatello asked, his voice reflecting fear in his response. Viper nodded. “This doesn’t make any sense… why would the government be doing violent experiments on mutants? What good will that do them?”

    “Maybe it’s their way of seeing how they can beat other mutants if we turned up.” Raphael suggested.

    Viper turned her gaze toward the ground.

    “Or maybe they wanna take samples of her skin so they can make clones of her and make an army of Vipers!!” Michelangelo said.

    “Viper… what did they do to you?” Leonardo asked taking a step forward.

    That information is of no use to you.

    “Oh come on, we just want to know what they were doing that caused those scars!” Raphael exclaimed.

    I suggest you refrain from asking questions about things you need not understand. What happened to me is my concern not yours.

    Viper slammed the notebook on the table and hissed angrily at Raphael. It was clear she was giving him a warning to back off. He grumbled and walked to the other side of the room, leaning against the wall.

    “Raphael, you must respect that this girl wishes to keep some things private. It is not our place to pry into her past.” Splinter told his son. Raphael scoffed and looked away from his father. Splinter gave a heavy sigh before turning to Viper. “I must say, my dear, that you seem to be very well educated for someone in your situation.”

    Viper seemed to be frozen on the spot. She opened her mouth as if to say something before remembering she couldn’t speak. Slowly, she picked up the notebook again.

    They taught us how to be like them. I do not know what their reasons were for teaching us such simple things, but it never mattered to us.

    “Wait a second…‘they taught **_us_** ’?” Donatello said as he read what she wrote aloud. “So you weren’t the only one? There are others like you still there?!”

    “So you’re the only one who managed to escape?” Leonardo asked. “Of course, some of the others could’ve escaped and we just don’t know about it.”

    Her eyes widened in fear. The notebook fell to the ground and she took a step back. She obviously had not realized what she had just revealed to these strangers. Tears formed in her eyes and she fell to her knees.

    “Hey—hey! Are you okay?” Michelangelo asked walking over to her. He reached out to help her up but she hit his hand away. “Ow! Hey, I was just trying to help dude!”

    Donatello noticed Michelangelo’s hand was bleeding and he looked at Viper’s hand. Her fingers had grown long and sharp, as if they had turned into blades. The tips had traces of Michelangelo’s blood on them from when she struck him. Her eyes were full of tears and the expression on her face was one full of immense pain and unimaginable anguish.

    “What is **_wrong_** with you?! We’re only trying to help and you attack us?!” Raphael shouted angrily at her.

    “Raph, calm down! Yelling isn’t going to help!” Leonardo shouted at his brother.

    “What, are you **_defending_** her now?! She just attacked Mikey for no reason!” Raphael argued. “Mikey was just trying help her and she attacked him!!”

    Viper hissed angrily as she jumped to her feet. Donatello and Michelangelo stepped in front of her to stop her. She lunged at Michelangelo, knocking him to the ground, her finger blades cutting into his arms. Everyone ran forward to pull her off of him. Her arms flailing as she fought against them, her finger blades cutting into Michelangelo’s shell as well as scratching up the rest of them as they fought to hold her still.

    As if something had snapped inside of her, Viper overpowered all of them and ran out of the lair as fast as a bullet shot from a gun.

    “The hell was that about?!” Raphael exclaimed as he looked at the deep cuts on his arms.

    “I think I understand what happened.” Splinter said as he and Leonardo helped Michelangelo stand up. “I believe that she went into a blind rage. It must be her way of defending herself when she feels threatened.”

    “Threatened? But we didn’t threaten her, did we?” Leonardo asked confused.

    “A threat doesn’t need to be made for one to be perceived.” Splinter replied.

    “Okay, you lost me.” Raphael said.

    “He means that she could’ve felt threatened even if that wasn’t our intent.” Donatello explained as he started to patch up Michelangelo’s wounds.

    “If you ask me this whole thing doesn’t make any sense.” Raphael grumbled as he headed for the door.

    “Heh, good thing nobody’s asking you.” Donatello mumbled under his breath.

    Leonardo started to pace around the room. Nothing was making sense to him. Why was the government experimenting on mutants? How come Viper had all those scars? How was she able to escape? Was she the only one that escaped? Just what in the world was going on in that building?

    “I think we should check it out.” Leonardo said finally.

    “Huh? What do you mean Leo?” Donatello asked.

    “We need to look into that government building and find out what they’re up to.” Leonardo explained as they left Donatello’s lab. “I have a feeling that whatever it is, it needs to be stopped.”

    “Are you serious? You want us to go into a building full of government agents that could capture us? You saw Viper’s scars! What if they do the same thing to us that they did to her?!”

    “Leonardo is right,” Splinter said calmly. “If they are experimenting on mutants you need to figure out what their plan is so we know if it is a threat to us or not. And if there are more mutants being held captive, you must rescue them before it’s too late.”


	2. Mutant Jail Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The turtles decide to investigate on what the government is doing with mutants. They discover not only are there more mutants than they thought, but they were also various ages and animals. Viper has broken back into the building in order to help the other mutants escape and suddenly Raphael sees images of her past and hears her voice. Knowing she cannot save them all on her own, she enlists the help of the turtles. Will the mutants be able to reunite with their friends? Can they find a safe place to stay out of the governments reach?

    A harsh thunderstorm raged through New York City as the turtles made their way over to the building they had visited earlier that same evening. As they began to enter the same way they had before, Raphael felt as if they were being watched. He looked up and saw Viper’s blood red eyes staring back at him from the other end of the roof. Raphael felt a chill run down his spine but he quickly shook it off and followed after his brothers.  
  
    The turtles ran down the same hall as before but this time they noticed it was completely deserted. Not a single guard or human being to be seen. As they avoided the security cameras they found a large window in one of the walls. The window looked into a small white room with only a single door, which was beside the window. What shocked the turtles was that the room was indeed white, but something of another color was splashed along the walls, something that reminded Raph of Viper’s cold eyes. Blood.  
  
    On the far side of the room was a small figure lying on the ground, their bloodied body still and unmoving.  
  
    “Wait… is that—Viper?!” Leonardo exclaimed in a shocked whisper.  
  
    “No, it can’t be, she was just—” Raphael stopped himself short. Should he tell his brothers about seeing Viper on the rooftop moments ago? Would they even care?  
  
    Raphael’s brothers didn’t have a chance to ask him what he meant as they heard voices coming down the hall towards them. The turtles ducked into the air vents above them and saw as a woman in a lab coat walked over to the door beside the window.  
  
    “Dr. Shepherd, what’s going on? Why did you bring us all here.” They heard a young girl’s voice ask.  
  
    Donatello noticed that the woman, presumably Dr. Shepherd, was shaking. “We… I thought you might want to say goodbye. I do not think that he has much time left and… well…”  
  
    The turtles heard a ‘beep’ and the sound of a door opening, followed by bustling footsteps and multiple gasps and screams. They heard the door close and after the footsteps faded away, the turtles jumped back down and looked through the window to see who had just been put into the room.  
  
    “This… this is impossible…” Leonardo breathed in horror as they saw who was now in the room.  
  
    “I don’t believe it… they’re all—mutants!” Donatello exclaimed in shock.  
  
    About fifteen or so mutants had been brought into the room and were now huddled around the bloodied body that had already been there. One of the mutants, a female bird, was crying over the body, her yellow feathers now stained with blood.  
  
_“This isn’t fair!”_  
  
    “How could they do this to him? He didn’t do anything wrong!”  
  
    “You girls are idiots. Of course he did something wrong—he and Viper tried to escape!”  
  
    The turtles could hear the conversation between the mutants in the room and found themselves frozen in both curiosity and utter disbelief at the scene unfolding before them.  
  
     _“Viper did escape, Doyle!”_  
  
    “Fat lot of good it did. Adder got captured and now look at him! He’s gonna die! Adder’s gonna die and it’s all Viper’s fault!”  
  
    “Shut up Doyle! You don’t know what happened!”  
  
    “You don’t think it was her fault Thumper? Then tell me, how come he’s the only one that got captured? They were together when they left, so why didn’t they both get captured? She’s a coward who only cares about herself!”  
  
    “Don’t talk so high and mighty when you’re just as guilty of being selfish and cowardly yourself!”  
  
    There was a small crash as a ceiling panel fell onto the floor of the room. Viper fell from the ceiling and landed in front of the group of mutants.  
  
     _“Viper!”_  
  
    She looked up at the limp body in the bird’s feathered arms and rushed over to him. She held him in her arms and began to cry, her arms clutching him tight to her chest.  
  
_**It was not his fault…**_  
  
    Raphael jumped back at the sudden female voice he heard. It didn’t belong to any of the mutants in the room, and it sounded different somehow, almost familiar to him.  
  
    Suddenly images flashed through Raphael’s mind. He saw a young boy snake mutant smiling at him. Then he was holding a bunch of blankets in his arms. It seemed that some men in suits were trying to take the blankets away from him. Lastly he stood protectively in front of Raphael, shouting something at him over his shoulder.  
  
     ** _It was not his fault… he didn’t have to die…_**  
      
    Raphael realized that the voice must belong to Viper. What concerned him was how he was able to hear it while his brothers didn’t. Did it have something to do with the strange connection he and Viper had?  
  
_“Viper, why did you come back?”_  
  
    Viper looked up at the window, Raphael could swear she was staring right at him. She stood up with Adder’s body in her arms and walked towards the window. Viper tilted her head for the other mutants to stand back and did the same for the turtles to get away from the window as well.  
  
    After they had stepped back, Viper crashed through the window. She nodded at the window, signaling the mutants to run.  
  
    “But Viper, where are we gonna go? What if we get captured again?” a young rabbit mutant asked looking frightened.

    Viper did not respond but lifted the young mutant onto her back with her long tail. She looked at the turtles. It was as if she was asking if they were going to help her or stop her.  
  
    Donatello lifted one of the younger mutants up onto his back and Leonardo took out his katana and stepped to the front of the group. Raphael was the only one who didn’t move. He didn’t want to stop her, but he wasn’t sure if he should trust her either.  
  
    Viper stared at Raphael and for the first time Raphael noticed the glimmer of pleading desperation in her red eyes. It was as if she was begging him to save these mutants so they did not suffer from the same fate as the one in her arms.

 _'Please save them, they have done no wrong.'_ her expression said.  
  
    Raphael found himself reaching out his hands to take the bloodied body from her hands, but she refused. This one is my responsibility, I will carry him. she seemed to say. Raphael grabbed the young bird mutant and another small mutant before the group ran down the hall together.  
  
    It wasn't long before an alarm began to sound and red lights flashed through the building.  
  
    "C'mon, we can make it!" Leonardo shouted to the group behind him as they neared their exit. Once there, he leapt to the roof and sheathed his katana. "Hand them up!"  
  
    Raphael and Donatello began passing up the smaller mutants to Leonardo while the others leapt up on their own. Finally it was Viper's turn. Footsteps grew louder down the hall and moments later, she was surrounded by men with guns.  
  
    "Viper?"  
  
    Viper flinched at the female voice saying her name but did not turn around. Raphael, Leonardo and Donatello saw Dr. Shepherd stepping through the men. Her blonde hair was disheveled and her clear blue eyes full of concern and something else the turtles' could not recognize.  
  
    "Viper..." she repeated Viper's name, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Don't do this... please..."  
  
    Viper took a step before she leapt up to the roof with the others. They ran along the rooftops for a few blocks before they finally stopped to rest and catch their breaths.  
  
    "We're free!!" the bird Raphael had helped shouted excitedly, flapping her wings and lifting herself a few feet off the ground.  
  
    "Knock it off Canary!" the dog mutant named Doyle snapped, grabbing her leg and harshly pulling her back to the rooftop. "Do you want to get caught and sent back?"  
  
    "Oh come on Doyle, she's just having a bit of fun, that's all." an opossum mutant said leaning on his shoulder.  
  
    "Opal, this is no time to be celebrating or having a bit of fun! You know that!" Doyle growled.  
  
    Raphael looked over at Viper and saw she was staring mournfully at the body in her arms. He felt a twinge of guilt for his behavior towards her before. She looked at him and her eyes had a more dead inside look than they had before.  
  
    "What are we gonna do now Viper?" two little rabbit mutants asked. "Where are we gonna go?"  
  
    Raphael sighed. "You guys can come with us for now, until you find your own place to stay."  
  
    Leonardo and Donatello shared a shocked look. They could not believe that Raphael was actually being nice to these mutants. What was going on with him?  
  
    "What about Forsyth and Zira?" Opal asked.  
  
    "Maybe they've already found a safe place to hide and are waiting to come back for us." Canary thought aloud. "But we're not there anymore, how will they know where to find us?"  
  
    "We can find them, or at least I can. Viper and I have the best sense of smell around, we'll be able to find them in no time." Doyle said with an air of confidence.  
  
    Canary looked at the fellow mutants. All of them were tired and scared. "We should probably rest for tonight though, let's go with these turtles and get some rest before we try to find Zira and Forsyth."  
  
    Doyle gave a bitter sigh and the turtles led the mutants back to the lair where they could get some rest.

**Author's Note:**

> The government had heard the stories of the mutants around the world, but most recently in New York City. Thus they set out to investigate and they came upon the Kraang and the mutagen. After realizing what mutagen could do to a human, they decided to experiment with it in order to create the ultimate weapon as well as to further evolve the human race.
> 
> Viper is a "genetically perfect" mutant, her DNA makeup is: 50% human, 50% viper (snake) mutagen. The mutagen was altered by the scientists in order to add the snake genetic material to her human DNA.
> 
> The other mutant experiments have about the same genetic makeup, however, Viper was the first of the experiments to survive as well as the only one to have shown any kind of supernatural abilities.


End file.
